Not applicable.
Not applicable.
The present invention relates to an auto body tool and, more particularly, to a powered crimping tool for folding the flange of an automobile replacement door skin panel to an existing door shell.
This invention relates to crimping tools and, more particularly, to a powered crimping tool for folding the flange of an automobile replacement door skin panel to an existing door shell as well as for crimping other irregularly shaped parts.
Every aspect of sheet metal work requires a relatively large amount of crimping operations. Sheet metal parts are crimped to increase their strength, to fasten a plurality of sheet metal parts to each other, or to prepare them for subsequent welding, and to enhance the appearance of the parts. Most crimping operations are performed in a workshop or a factory where the final part is being manufactured. Usually there are relatively large and expensive machines available that rapidly crimp long sections. These machines are also capable of crimping irregularly shaped sheet metal edges as long as it is economically feasible to adapt a relatively expensive machine to such a task.
A problem was encountered when a crimping operation had to be performed without the help of such machines. This is frequently the case where a last crimp has to be made upon installation of a part or where an already installed part has to be repaired. In those instances, the machines found in workshops and factories are not available or, due to their bulkiness, cannot be employed. The crimping operation then had to be performed by hand. This is done by supporting the part to be crimped with a block, such as a steel block, having a relatively large mass and manually hammering the other side of the sheet metal to deform and crimp it. Automobile repair work, and particularly the installation of door panels after the original door panel had been damaged in an accident, are recurring examples of such work.
A crimping operation performed in this manner is time-consuming and, therefore, uneconomical. Moreover, the final appearance of the crimped part is not always satisfactory since the workman has relatively little control when striking the sheet metal part with a hammer. This is particularly true when there is limited access for striking the part with the hammer.
Since a relatively large space is required for swinging the hammer, parts must often be disassembled to give the workman access for striking his hammer. Again, an example of this is the door of an automobile that receives a new outside door panel. The edge of the door adjacent the door hinges cannot be reached with a manual hammer. In order to crimp this edge the door has to be removed from its hinges, which involves additional and time-consuming labor. Modern cars have a variety of electrical equipment in the door, such as cigarette lighters, power-operated windows, locks, seats, and mirrors which must be electrically disconnected first. To make the disconnections, the inside panel of the door must be taken off, which includes all handles, switches and armrests. After the door has thus been disassembled, removed, and the outside panel crimped thereto, all parts have to be assembled again and the door installed thereafter.
Large amounts of labor, which is the most expensive part in automobile repair work, have to be expended in order to attach a new outside door panel to the door. All this labor was necessary only because crimping tools that were capable of reaching areas that could not be reached by a manual hammer used for crimping a part were not available in the past.
Various devices for use in fastening or crimping one piece of sheet metal to another have been granted patents. Myers, in U.S. Pat. No. 421,187, describes a double handled device with a pair of mating jaws that crimp together the edges of two pieces of sheet metal or roofing.
In U.S. Pat. No. 2,143,339, Wiese discloses a roof seaming tool that has a plyers-like head with an overlapping jaw portion for grasping and crimping two sheet metal pieces together.
Chaplin, Sr., in U.S. Pat. No. 3,166,961, describes a sheet metal roofing fastener bender tool that includes a handle section with a semicircular head that crimps a nail or similar fastener around an I-beam or C-channel support.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,180,128, Faulkner discloses a lever operated crimping tool with a biasing spring to hold the crimping rod away from the handle. Only a small area can be crimped at one time.
Buske, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,421,356, describes another panel crimping tool that attaches to an air hammer. The tool includes a flat anvil and a hammer head, pivoted to the tool frame, which is driven by the piston rod of the air hammer.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,477,272, Hunter discloses yet another panel crimping tool that attaches to an air hammer. The tool has an interchangeable anvil and a pivoted hammer head which is driven via a rod member, within a handle portion, by the air hammer.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,602,032, Skintzis discloses a pneumatic hammer with a crimping jaw head designed for attaching a replacement panel over a damaged door of an automobile. The head has a pivoting jaw that applies force against an opposed support surface to crimp the free end of a flange about a door panel. The moving jaw is small in order to apply the replacement panel with the door attached to the automobile.
Osbolt, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,961,518, describes a hand operated crimping device for attaching a replacement panel over a damaged door of an automobile. The device includes a flat anvil jaw portion and an L-shaped crimping member that presses the free end of a flange against a door panel. Again, the crimping member is quite small in the area that contacts the flange.
Barber et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 4,145,907, disclose a metal edge turning power tool. The bending portion of the device attaches to a standard reciprocating jig saw and includes two blade members. One blade member rests against the sheet metal while the other blade member moves reciprocally to bend the edge of a horizontal piece of sheet metal vertically.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,318,211, by Hoskinson discloses a crimping tool for automobile door panels. The hand operated tool has a pair of levers pivoted to one another with the pivoted ends defining the holding and crimping jaws. The jaws press the free end of a flange against a door panel. Again, the crimping member is quite small in the area that contacts the flange.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,517,724, Gee discloses a seaming tool for air ducts where one panel forms a bent flange and another flange forms a flange receiving channel. The tool aligns the two panels and drives the flange into the channel when struck with a hammer or similar item.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,713,959 by Bennett describes a tool for coupling sections of air handling ducts. The plyers-like device has jaws that are specially formed to connect, bend over and collapse the peripheral lips of the duct sections. The sequence of steps is shown in FIGS. 2-5.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,825,676, Diggins discloses a flange rolling hand tool that deforms the edge of a metal sheet to provide a flange or edge portion, which is offset from the plane of the sheet. The plyers-like device has two opposed rollers that crimp the edge of the sheet metal.
Dacey, Jr., in U.S. Pat. No. 4,827,595, describes a single station hemming device for fabricating auto body parts. The device has a series of hemming tools positioned around the periphery of the two pieces to be joined together. The station laps one edge over the other of the two parts and crimps them together. The station is specific for each part of an auto, such as a hood or trunk cover.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,090,101 by Welty discloses a hand-held pneumatic tool for installing the corners of transverse duct systems. The tool has a pivoting jaw that moves toward a stationary jaw to crimp two duct flanges together.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,095,732, Bootka discloses another plyers-like tool for manually crimping a flanged vehicle door panel onto a door frame without the need to remove the door from the vehicle body. The jaws move in a pincher-like fashion to crimp the flange flat.
Parker, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,878,617, describes a pneumatic decking crimper for fastening and dimpling structural steel decking and roofing panels together. The jaws move in a pincher-like fashion to fasten the male and female lips of the decking together.
Applicant has invented a powered crimping tool for folding the flange of an automobile replacement door skin panel to an existing door shell. Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of the a double clip device.
The present invention is a tool for crimping a flanged vehicle door panel onto a door frame. The auto body crimping tool assembly includes a hollow housing body member with a first aperture centered on a body member first axis at one end thereof. The body member also includes a second aperture centered on a body member second axis perpendicular to the first axis. The housing body member includes an offset anvil bed member adjacent the body member second aperture with a flat surface aligned with the body member first axis. A nylon pad is adjustably secured to the anvil bed member. A crimping head member is pivotally mounted near an end thereof on a drive shaft member rotatably secured in the body member second aperture with the crimping head member positioned a selected distance above the nylon pad and anvil bed member. The crimping head member has a flat crimping surface facing the nylon pad and anvil bed member adjacent the pivotally mounted end thereof and a helical crimping surface facing the nylon pad and anvil bed member opposite the pivotally mounted end thereof, with the helical crimping surface inclined away from the housing body member. A power source positioned at the body member first aperture is operably connected to the drive shaft member and imparts reciprocal rotary motion to the drive shaft, causing the flat and helical crimping surfaces of the crimping head member to pivot away from and toward the nylon pad and anvil bed member, thereby crimping a replacement door skin panel to a door shell as the edges of the panel and shell move between the crimping head member and nylon pad and anvil bed member.
In operation, the flanged door panel is positioned so the flange extends upwardly from the frame. The user moves the tool along the edge of the door frame with the crimping head member moving in a limited arc to incrementally crimp the flange tightly against the frame as the tool moves along the edge of the work piece. The crimped flange and door frame pass between the crimping head member and the nylon pad and anvil member. The nylon pad contacts the exterior of the door panel to prevent damage or scuffing of the panel surface that is normally exposed on the exterior of the automobile.